Legal hurdles delay Sri Lanka’s visa-free scheme for 33 countries

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By Editor_1

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s plan to implement a visa-free entry scheme for 33 countries has been delayed pending clearance from the Attorney General’s Department, due to legal complications surrounding a previous visa outsourcing deal, Foreign and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath said on Tuesday (28).

In July 2024, the government announced it would expand the list of countries eligible for visa-free entry to 40, in a bid to boost post-crisis tourism arrivals. However, the measure has yet to take effect, and travellers from the proposed countries continue to pay the standard Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) fees.

“We have to submit the new gazette notification to Parliament,” Minister Herath said at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing, adding, “After that, we will implement the process. We expect to finalize it within one or two months.”

Herath also confirmed that the delay was linked to ongoing legal proceedings related to the controversial online visa contract with private companies VFS, IVS, and GBS.

“We are waiting for some clarification from the Attorney General because the case on the previous online visa scheme is still not finished,” he said. “There is some legal advice required related to revenue when we go for a free visa scheme,” he added.

Currently, Sri Lanka offers visa-free entry only to holders of ordinary, diplomatic, official, or service passports from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, and Thailand.

The remarks come just days after a special audit report by the Auditor General’s Department on the VFS visa deal, which was suspended by court orders in August 2024. The report revealed that high and hidden fees had been charged to travellers, and that certain revenues due to the government had not been remitted through the computer system.

The deal, signed in April 2023, had outsourced parts of the Department of Immigration and Emigration’s visa processing work to private companies, drawing sharp criticism from industry stakeholders and the opposition. The Colombo Commercial High Court suspended the agreement on August 2, 2024, pending a full inquiry.

Herath said the government remains committed to introducing the expanded visa-free regime, once legal and procedural clearances are complete, as part of efforts to simplify entry for tourists and attract new markets.

Sri Lanka has set an ambitious target of three million tourist arrivals and US$5 billion in revenue this year, though it had reached just 1.86 million arrivals as of late October, according to the latest official data.

-ENCL

Editor_1
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